$175 – Insured through The Trust Sponsored Professional Liability Program $250 – Non-insureds

Adventures on the Electronic Frontier: Ethics and Risk Management in the Digital Era

With the expansion of the digital age even psychologists who have no interest in providing some or all their services remotely are being confronted by issues having to do with the new internet and computer-based technologies. Facebook, Google, cyber reviews and attacks, email, texting, Twitter, Skype, real time audio and visual technology, encryption and computer security are impacting almost all psychologists. Many questions regarding the internet and digital communication have arisen for psychologists and include: Can I have a Facebook page? What can I put on it? How do I secure my electronic communications? How much of my private, non-professional life is appropriate to reveal to the public? How do I control access to my private and personal information?

The Trust’s experience in giving workshops and taking risk management calls indicates that psychologists are not fully prepared to deal with these developments, particularly those who were not raised in the digital world. Regardless, even psychologists unfamiliar or uninvolved with these new technologies know that they are revolutionizing communication and creating a variety of new professional challenges from which no psychologist can escape.

This workshop will address the above issues starting with a point in time review of the current status of digital psychology and make predictions based on the current state of affairs as well as review the potential professional and economic advantages of using telepsychology. It will provide guidance to psychologists who wish to take full advantage of this technology before the rules are established, a circumstance that will likely expose them to some risk. Additionally, the workshop will review the current ethical rules, standards and underlying principles dealing with telepsychology and online services. It will then look at relevant laws, both current and in development and will address relevant court decisions, government policies, jurisdictional issues and licensing board responses. In summary, this workshop will provide those who attend with an overview of the beginnings of the evolution of regulatory policy for both psychologists interested in using telepsychology and those who are less prone to embrace this new technology. Finally, and most importantly, this cutting edge workshop will provide practitioners with a method of identifying risks and with a process for developing a risk management strategy based on the approach presented in past workshops and in the Trust publication “Assessing and Managing Risk in Psychological Practice: An Individualized Approach.”

[Note] this webinar was filmed in 2014 and may not reflect the most current information and laws regarding this topic.

Objective

Participants will be able to apply basic ethical principles to evaluate risks, benefits, and appropriateness of using various electronic communication and social networking media in their professional practice in a variety of situations.

Participants will be able to identify ethical, legal, and disciplinary trends concerning electronic communication that will allow them to anticipate, plan, and adjust their practices accordingly.

Participants will be able to evaluate when and how to provide remote professional services, therapeutic, and otherwise to clients in a way that minimizes disciplinary risk.

Participants will be able to understand, apply, and integrate the laws and legal principles governing remote practice within and between states.

Participants will be able to identify various kinds of professional credentials that will enable them to increase their professional mobility.

Participants will be able to develop amendments to their informed consent and documentation and professional consultation policies to accommodate remote practice and electronic communication.

Participants will be able to identify important issues regarding privacy and confidentiality created by electronic communication media and technologies that present risks to clients so they can clearly discuss these risks with clients who wish to utilize these technologies.

Participants will be able to evaluate and improve their competency to utilize electronic technology and provide remote services to their clients.

Participants will be able to discuss and apply specific, positive, ethically based, strategies to manage the disciplinary risks presented by remote electronic communication and professional service delivery based on documentation, consultation, informed consent, and demonstration of competency.

Continuing Education Credits

Adventures on the Electronic Frontier: Ethics and Risk Management in the Digital Era is sponsored by The Trust and TrustPARMA. The Trust is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Trust maintains responsibility for this program and its content. No refunds will be offered for this workshop. Grievances about the workshop may be addressed to The Trust.

You are required to achieve a passing score of 75 percent or higher. You are allowed three attempts to successfully complete the exam. If you are unsuccessful on the third attempt, you must re-purchase the course to try again.

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

Because this webinar is on-demand, once you are registered and have created a login account, you can view the webinar at any time in whatever time increments are most convenient (e.g., all 6 hours at once; 3, 2, or 1-hour increments) as often as is needed to complete the sequence. However, APA rules require that in order to download your CE certificate, receive 6 CE credits, and become eligible for the Trust professional liability policy premium discount, you must:

view the entire webinar sequence,

pass a webinar exam, and,

complete a brief evaluation form.

Eligibility for Insurance Premium Discounts:

Completing one of The Trust’s Ethics and Risk Management Webinar sequences earns 6 CE credits and eligibility to receive a 15% premium discount on Trust Sponsored Professional Liability Insurance for the next 2 consecutive policy periods. To obtain CE discounts, download and submit CE certification for this webinar (completed within the previous 15 months) with your insurance application/renewal. The 15% discount is not applicable to Researcher/Academician or Student policies. Group policies become eligible for the CE discount when at least 50% of those insured under the group policy submit CE certification. All applications are individually underwritten and submission of CE certification will not guarantee insurance policy issuance or renewal.

Continuing Education Grievance Policy

The Trust is fully committed to conducting all activities in strict conformance with the American Psychological Association's Ethical Principles of Psychologists. The Trust will comply with all legal and ethical guidelines for non-discrimination in promotional activities, program content and in the treatment of CE participants. The Trust CE Director is responsible for complying with these standards.

While the Trust strives to assure fair treatment for all participants and to anticipate problems before they occur, occasionally grievances may be filed. In cases where a participant files a written or oral grievance, the following actions are taken:

If the grievance concerns the content of the workshop, webinar, book or the continuing education test, a Trust representative will mediate and will be the final arbitrator. If the participant requests action, the CE Director or a Trust representative will either provide a credit for a subsequent CE offering or provide a partial or full refund of the CE fee already paid.

Actions involving a credit or a refund will require a written note documenting the grievance for record-keeping purposes. The aggrieved individual need not sign the note. If the grievance specifically concerns The Trust, the CE Director or Trust representative will attempt to arbitrate.

Supplementary Materials

APA Ethics Code, Helpful Guidelines and Sample Consent Forms, Articles of Interest and more information about The Trust.

Risk Management in the Electronic Age - Slides

Eric A. Harris, J.D., Ed.D. - Books of Interest

Encryption Article

telementalhealthcomparisons.com

Sequence IV - Agenda

3 User Reviews

"Very informative and thought povoking"
— Jean D.

"Thanks for an enjoyable course. I watched the video over several days and had no trouble picking up where I left off and passing the test. I was inspired to consider areas of practice I never contemplated before, and felt confident that I could navigate telepsychology given the information presented. Great course!"
— Anonymous